General Program, Admissions, Testing,
And Registration Information

TC Dual Credit program is an enrollment program that allows students to receive college credit as well as high school credit for certain courses his/her school approves. Your students may be eligible to be awarded credit toward high school graduation for completing certain college-level courses.

Yearlong high school courses usually require a two-semester college course sequence. Semester-long high school courses are generally associated with a one-semester college course.

Temple College uses the Texas Common Course Numbering System. For instance, ENGL-1301 is a 3 credit hour course. The second digit represents the number of credit a student will earn. Lab-required classes will extend the time period the course will be meeting. For instance, BIOL-1406, a 4 credit hour course, is required to meet 3 academic hours for lecture and another 3 academic hours for lab per week.

Qualified students may also enroll in college courses other than those identified for dual credit to begin gaining additional college credits while still in high school. This is known as Early Admission where only college credit is awarded. These students, as well as the dual credit students, must meet certain criteria to be admitted to the college and must comply with all prerequisites for the college courses. Dual Credit courses are offered at the high school campus during regular high school hours or at the college’s main or learning center locations during the day or evenings.

Eligibility Requirements

IIf you have students wishing to take advantage of dual credit and/or early admission enrollment opportunities, then he/she must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be classified as a high school junior or senior and meet high school eligibility requirements on TAKS test.
2. Meet established admissions requirements at TC as well as appropriate prerequisites for any course.
3. Comply with the state-mandated Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Program.
4. If required, take applicable TC placement tests prior to admission to Temple College.
5. Submit a completed Temple College application for admission accompanied by a sealed, official high school transcript and proof of required test scores.
6. Complete the dual credit registration form with appropriate school official, student, and parent signatures.
7. Pay the reduced cost tuition associated with taking a dual credit college course (if your ISD does not pay).

Testing Requirements for Dual Credit/Early Admission High School Students

Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is a state-mandated program that requires students entering college to demonstrate college-level readiness. Readiness can be established by taking a state-approved test or by providing proof of college readiness. Note: Passing TSI does not ensure enrollment in all college courses. Other college and academic department requirements may apply and must be fulfilled. Potential dual credit students must fulfill one of the following TSI requirements by:

1. being exempt with specific scores via SAT, ACT, exit-level 11th grade TAKS scores; or by other criteria.
2. being waived with specific scores via 10th grade TAKS scores for juniors only.
3. taking a TSI-eligible exam and receiving a passing score on the applicable section(s) required for entry level in the desired college course for which college readiness is required. To determine college readiness, the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) exam or a state-approved alternative test provides assessment information in reading, writing, and math. TC offers ACCUPLACER as its THEA-alternative test. Other state-approved tests are ASSET and COMPASS, which TC will accept for consideration in meeting TSI and placement purposes.

Students can fulfill their college or academic placement by having the required placement score(s) for enrollment into the dual credit course. Eligible placement scores may be from THEA, SAT, ACT, ASSET, COMPASS, or ACCUPLACER tests.

These requirements are also put forth by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

TSI-eligibility Cut-Scores
Common placement exams for students to be TSI-eligible are THEA, ACCUPLACER, SAT, or ACT. The minimum scores for students to be eligible for exemption have the cut-scores listed below.

Students eligible for exemption via THEA have the required cut-scores: Reading score of 230, Mathematics score of 230*, and Writing score of 220.
* Students enrolling in a math class will need to score 270.
Students eligible for exemption via ACCUPLACER have the required cut-scores: Reading score of 78, Mathematics score of 63*, and Essay Writing score of 6 or 5 with a Sentence Skills score of 80.
* Students enrolling in a math class will need to score 95.

Students eligible for exemption via TAKS have the required cut-scores: Reading score of 2200, Math score of 2200, and Writing score of 3.

Students eligible for exemption via SAT have the required cut-scores: Critical Reasoning score of 500, Quantitative score of 500, with a combined score of 1000.

Students eligible for exemption via ACT have the following cut-scores: Writing score of 19, Mathematics score of 19 with a composite score of 23.

THEA and ACCUPLACER Testing Fees
The testing fee for THEA is $44, where $29 goes to NES and $15 goes to Temple College as an administration fee.
The testing fee for ACCUPLACER is $30 for first-time test takers and $15 for retesting.

TSI-Waived Certificate Programs
Potential dual credit students seeking courses included in a college certificate program and who only enroll in the specific courses for a particular certificate program may have the minimum score requirements waived. These potential dual credit students must achieve the minimum high-school-passing standard on the Math section and/or the English/Language Arts section of the 10th or 11th grade TAKS. Other conditions may apply. Additional information regarding TSI-Waived certificate programs is available from the Temple College Advising Center.

Dual Credit Course Restrictions and Limitations
Students may not count courses as dual credit if he/she takes private music lessons, or any course for which he/she does not meet the skill level pre-requisite requirements. Students must be a junior or senior and have an enrollment limit of two dual credit courses per semester not to exceed 8 credit hours. Legacy Early College High School (LECHS) students can enroll as a full-time or part-time student. Middle college students in the Texas Bioscience Institute are required to be full-time students, taking 12 or more credit hours per semester. Enrollment in subsequent semesters may be dependent upon his/her college GPA. A grade of “C”, or better, in any course, is recommended for transferability to a state university. For your student to maintain his/her academic standing, the graduated GPA (Qualitative Standard below) must be adhered to in order for him/her to continue enrollment in college courses provided the college pre-requisites are met for the courses desired.

Qualitative Standard(Hours Earned and Grade Point Average)
Satisfactory academic progress will be measured according to the chart below:

Registration Process and Classes
Once your student has been admitted to the College and the appropriate testing requirements have been met, he/she is now eligible to register for classes. A Dual Credit/Early Admission form signed by you and the student’s parent (if the student is under 18 years of age at the time of registration) approving the student for dual credit or early admission must be submitted at the time the student registers. Previously enrolled dual credit students only have to submit a signed Dual Credit/Early Admission Form at the time of registration to sign up for courses provided they have met the testing/course pre-requisite requirements for the desired course.

Dual credit students are awarded college and high school credit for those courses approved for enrollment by the school district. Early admission students are awarded college-only credit in any credit course offered by the College and listed in the College Catalog.

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